To be clear, this Shepard is a Paragade, with more of an emphasis on the Paragon side. Imagine how you would react to being surrounded by an organization you hate. I'd be pretty damn 'renegade' towards them. Also, this Shepard isn't really a class, but he's closest to a soldier, just has some limited biotics.
The YMIR heavy mech fell at last, the sustained fire from his team at last being too much for it.
He had to admit that he was very, very impressed with Miranda now. On the shuttle out here, he had asked her about her qualifications, and had literally rolled his eyes at the ridiculousness of her claims. But he didn't doubt her anymore. She was agile, an excellent marksman and her biotics were among some of the strongest she had ever seen. And she did have quite an eye for tactics. Regardless of what he thought of her personally, she was someone he could definitely work with professionally. The two of them combined were an incredible force, and although Jacob wasn't anywhere near there class, he was still impressed with the heart he showed, throwing himself right into the fray at will.
"Shepard, I'm tending to the wounded, go look after Veetor." Tali's voice came strong over the radio, though there was fear in her tone. She was undoubtedly worried about her men, who had been mowed down stupidly. While he wasn't too sad that Tali's team were injured by their own incompetence, he was glad that Tali wasn't among the wounded. He liked the fiery quarrian, considered her like a little sister. She was a good friend who he knew he could trust; a badly needed reminder of the good people he used to be surrounded by. At the same time, that reminder just made him more resentful of what he was left with now.
He hacked open the door to the control room quickly, Miranda and Jacob immediately bursting into the room. "Easy. I got this," he said quietly as he stepped in, starting to hear the Quarrian speak.
He listened as Veetor repeated his chant. Whatever had come really freaked him out. "Veetor?" he asked, but the quarrian just ignored him. "Veetor, we're here to help. The… monsters, the swarm as you call them. They're gone." He was careful to keep his tone neutral with a hint of comfort.
Veetor still didn't respond. Miranda huffed with annoyance beside him, starting to step up to Veetor, her gun raised. "Don't," Shepard started dangerously. She turned to him angrily, but quickly subdued herself without him having to do a thing.
He opened up his omni-tool, quickly resetting the monitors. Veetor stopped, and then turned to them. "Humans? How?" he asked, confused.
Jacob spoke up, surprising Shepard. "We're here to help. To rescue you." Ah, Jacob knew how Shepard operated and was trying to earn his respect. Of course. He glanced over at Jacob. Or maybe not; he didn't need to be so cynical about everyone. Jacob didn't think like Miranda or even himself. He was treating Veetor like this only to maximize the info he could get out of him. Jacob might genuinely want to help.
"But the monsters, the swarms. How did they not find you?"
"We came later, we just got here," replied Shepard. "What were the monsters like Veetor?" he asked, his voice soft and comforting.
He turned back to the controls, activating a few monitors. Video started rolling.
Miranda stepped forward. "Looks like surveillance footage. He must have put it together." She took another step forward, as did Jacob. The monitor showed little swarms of bugs in a few places, and then large human sized bugs walking around, collecting frozen humans into pods and carting them away. "These look like… collectors. Jacob?" she continued, asking for backup.
He nodded. "Definitely collectors."
Shepard frowned. Not much was known about the Collectors. He only had the briefest of knowledge about them. "I thought they kept to themselves."
"Yea, they do. Whenever they do want slaves, they work through intermediaries. And they don't gather such numbers, or an individual species. If they're involved with the Reapers though… that changes everything," answered Miranda.
The humans on screen were all frozen still. "That's some hell of a technological advantage they have if they can disable a whole settlement at once. I wonder how?" asked Jacob.
"The swarms," Veetor answered quickly. "They sting, they bite, they freeze."
"Jeesuz," whispered Shepard. What if the colonists were still conscious? The horror they must be feeling. "What do we know about the collectors?" He himself knew next to nothing. The alliance had known squat about them.
"Not much. Nothing really. The real question here is why are they abducting humans? What are they after?"
Jacob replied to her right away. "Maybe the Illusive Man can figure it out?"
Shepard resisted the urge to snort. The Illusive Man had known. He didn't know how he knew that, but he was positive. But it was better to not let his compatriots know. He wasn't surprised that Miranda hadn't known even if the Illusive Man had. He would have wanted her reactions to be genuine.
"Veetor," he began quietly. "Why didn't the collectors take you?"
"Couldn't find. Hid, and they never found," he responded sharply.
Jacob sighed. "His enviro-suit?"
"Or maybe it was technology that was specific to detecting humans. We are the only ones getting hit after all," supplied Miranda.
Shepard ignored their guesses. Speculation was pointless, and he already regretted asking the question. "Veetor, what happened next?"
"They took them to the ship and flew away. But they'll be back. No one escapes. No one…" he trailed off, his words becoming incoherent mumbles as he slipped off into some sort of a delusion.
He kneeled down next to Veetor. "Thank you for answering our questions Veetor. Don't worry, you won't be around if they come back. You'll be safe."
He came back to them. "I studied them! All the data, on my omni tool. Everything I could gather."
Miranda immediately jumped in close. "We need to get this data to the Illusive Man. Grab the quarrian Jacob, I'll radio the shuttle and we'll get out of here."
Before he could say anything, Tali interjected angrily. "WHAT? Veetor is injured; he needs treatment, not an interrogation." Shepard turned to look at Tali, her eyes heated.
Jacob stepped forward, hands out. "Look, we won't hurt him. We'll look after him, but we just need to ask him a few questions. After we're done, we'll return him unharmed."
But that didn't placate her at all, and then Miranda jumped in. "Your people already betrayed us once. If we give him up to you, we won't get the intel we need to stop these attacks."
Tali cut back rapidly. "Prazza was an idiot, he deserved what he got. You're welcome to the omni-tool. That should be all the data you need. Veetor needs help from his people. From us." Shepard could see that she had her hand next to her weapon, while Miranda still had her weapon in her hand.
Things could explode here, and go very badly. He was fairly certain Tali would be slaughtered before he could protect her, and then he'd have to kill Miranda and Jacob. "Tali, wait. There's no reason you both can't come with us. That way you can make sure Veetor is looked after, and we can get the data we need. Plus, I could use your help. I could use a friendly face and a capable engineer."
She glanced at him, and some of the anger drained from her. "Thank you Shepard, but I can't. I have a mission and responsibilities. They're too important. And one of those missions is getting Veetor home."
Shepard nodded, stepping closer to Tali. "Ok then Tali. Take him home, he needs care. Jacob, get his omni-tool, then escort Tali and Veetor to her shuttle. Miranda, go grab our shuttle and pull it in closer." He returned his attention to Tali. "If he ever can tell you anything useful, please send it to me?"
Miranda turned to him as Jacob started towards Veetor to ask for his omni-tool. "Belay that Jacob. Shepard, you can't do this. We need his intel." Jacob stopped, hesitating as he looked towards his two superiors.
"Ms. Lawson," he started dangerously as he stared her down. His rifle was on his back, and his pistol was still locked into his holster, while she had her weapon out. He was glad he was only 4 feet out from her, since his best bet would be his knife. Without taking his eyes off of Miranda, he saw that Jacob had turned back to them, though his weapon was away. He knew that if he moved on Miranda, Tali would handle Jacob.
"I can't let you risk all of humanity for one quarrian Shepard," she replied, coldly. "I don't want to take the quarrian, but we have to."
"Lawson, stand down," he strained loudly. "This is your only warning."
Tali wisely stayed silent, not even shifting. Jacob likewise. Both weren't stupid, knowing who the 2 heavy hitters were in the room.
The staring continued, Miranda working her jaw, Shepard simply staring coldly.
Finally, Miranda spoke. "Sir." She nodded, and very slowly holstered her machine gun. "I'll go get the shuttle."
He could actually hear Jacob sigh in relief, while Tali seemed to ease up. Miranda turned and walked to the exit, but Shepard didn't stop watching her closely until she disappeared out the door. The adrenaline still soaring through his veins, he was almost disappointed she hadn't tried something. It would be easier if she were dead.
Veetor looked distressed over what had almost happened. "Tali, can you get Veetor's omni tool and give it to Jacob? Then we'll help you get your men to the shuttle."
"Only one of them survived, and he's already on his way back to the shuttle," she replied mournfully. "But I'll get the tool." She moved quickly to grab the tool while Shepard downloaded everything he could from the central computer.
When he was finished, Tali was waiting. "I'm glad you're the one still giving orders Shepard… even if not immediately. You had me worried there." She gave him a hug. "Good luck. If he tells me anything, I'll send it along right away." Just before she released, she dropped her volume. "Watch your back."
She turned and walked out.
Jacob was still standing there, waiting. When he didn't say anything, Shepard spoke. "Yes?"
He hesitated. "Sir… I realize you don't trust Miranda. But believe me when I say that she really is just looking out for humanity. She just doesn't see things the same as you do."
"Well she's going to have to if she wants to work with me," John replied. "Come on, let's go."
"He's dangerous, he's reckless, and he is far too idealistic. John Shepard is not the man we want for this mission," Miranda said angrily, staring at the Illusive Man through the holoprojector.
But as usual, the Illusive Man was non-phased by her outburst. "He's also the best at what he does. He always gets the job done, you've seen his record. These are all things we knew, and they are all a part of what we needed from him."
"But he let the Quarrian go!" she explained frustrated. "I almost killed him over that, I was this close to it, and he never reacted."
He just smiled at her. "You mean he almost killed you. Miranda, you're very talented, my best agent. But he was undoubtedly a hairsbreadth from killing you."
She almost snarled back at him at how ridiculous that was. She had a gun out, he was unarmed. But she held back. "Sir. I think the story is more than the man. He's a fantastic warrior, an ok leader… but not a hero. I'm just saying, I should be the leader on this mission."
"You're blinded here Miranda, and you're underestimating him. You're letting your personal issues get in the way."
"There's nothing personal going on here. I'm stating fact. Frankly, I'm not sure he'll have me on my team anymore. He doesn't trust me, and that's another issue."
The Illusive Man turned his chair away. "You have your orders Miranda. If he won't take you, then you're gone. So get on his good side. In the meantime, see to the ship. Make sure that we're ready for a good presentation, it might help his respect of us. Tell them to be ready to paint Normandy on her. I'm sure you'll get the order from Shepard soon. Send him down when he's free."
The hologram field dropped as he dropped the connection with her. Her shoulders slumped in defeat as she tried to gather herself. As usual, he was prepared to discard her once she had finished her usefulness to him; why was she surprised?
She turned to find Jacob standing in the room. "What are you doing here Jacob?" she asked angrily. She didn't like that he'd seen the dressing down. It was embarrassing enough for her already.
He looked abashed, and a little ashamed. "I… the Illusive Man told me to watch the conversation."
"Oh," she said, the fight dropping out of her sails. She knew what this meant. He was going to have a talk with her. It wasn't the first time that the Illusive Man had had Jacob do this.
But Jacob knew her well, recognizing her change. "Look, I don't want to bust on your chops more than that. But Miranda, you're so locked up in seeing things from your angle. John is everything we thought he was, and more. You're so focused on what you've read about him that you're not seeing the real him. You know his actions, but you don't know him."
If it were anyone else, she would have just ignored them and told them to go to hell. But her friendship with Jacob was different, which was probably why the Illusive Man had him do this. It wasn't always overt, but he was one of the few people she trusted. Although their past was considerably more complicated than most friends were, she still liked him. But that was a path she didn't want to go down.
"Maybe you're right," she replied quietly. "I know every little thing Shepard has done. I guess I don't know how or why he has done it. Hell, I can't refer to him as anyone but Shepard. But still… I don't see how that man will get the job done. He's willing to risk us not getting the information we need because his friend asked him."
Jacob shrugged. "Or maybe that's how he's gotten it done, by being loyal to his friends and trusting his team. The Quarrians sent all the data they got from debriefing Veetor. It's probably more than we could have gotten out of him ourselves."
Miranda shot him a glare. She could be very persuasive. "I doubt that. Still, he's not very loyal to us. Do you think he was prepared to kill us?"
"Without a second thought. Even after you backed down, I wasn't sure if he wouldn't kill you. But then, you weren't being loyal to him."
She recoiled from him. "So, you're on his side are you?"
Jacob threw his arms up, exasperated. "You just don't get it, do you? His side, your side, it doesn't matter. All that matters is getting the job done. Stopping the Reapers and saving humanity."
"And you think he's the best one for the job?" she asked dryly.
"I think he's our best shot, yes." Even though she expected it, it still hurt to hear. She was genetically engineered to be perfect, and she still was less than Shepard in others eyes. And he had no such advantage.
She sighed. He had made his point. What good were all these genes if she couldn't use them, as she apparently couldn't. "Well I guess I don't have a choice anyways. I'll go talk to him."
She walked up the stairs, finding Shep… no, John… at the weapons rack, cleaning his assault rifle. Without looking up, he waved to her.
"So I suppose I owe you an apology," she started, roughly. "I didn't follow your orders."
He glanced to her. "You followed them, eventually. Not the way I'd have liked it to go down, but better than some of the alternatives."
She almost wanted to antagonize him by cracking a joke about his head being splattered on the floor, but wasn't so sure about it now. Maybe she was personally compromised, and couldn't see what everyone else was telling her. Plus, antagonizing him wasn't in her best interest. "Are you convinced that we can help you? That we are the ones who can get this done? That it needs to be done?"
"I'm convinced that something needs to be done, yes. I'm not sure if Cerberus is the way I want to do this."
"We're the only way," Miranda shot back coldly.
But Shepard was un-phased, throwing off his reply non-challantly. "That's a discussion for me and Tim." She frowned inwardly. Who was Tim? Ah, of course, The Illusive Man. He was trying to be funny. "But I think we need to make one thing perfectly clear here and now." He stopped cleaning the rifle, putting it down and focussing all her attention on her. The way his voice changed caught her attention, what with the threatening tone underneath. "If I stay, you're following my orders. You can question and probe what I'm doing and why, but you do them appropriately. In fact, I encourage you to do that. In private. But you pull a stunt like that again, and either you'll wind up dead at worst, or off the team at best. We clear?"
"Crystal," she replied, trying to keep any hint of coldness out of her voice. "I'm not the ice-bitch you think I am Shepard." She didn't know how that last statement slipped out, or if it was even truth or fiction. After all these years of playing one as needed, maybe she had become one.
He seemed satisfied, nodding. "Alright then, show me and we can get along just fine."
She was surprised at how easy it had been to clear the air between them. She had needed to swallow some of her pride, but he hadn't sought to rip it apart as she would have done. He was inviting her to try again, and yet she wouldn't try it again. Not now. Something had changed, she just didn't know what. "Well, the Illusive Man would like to speak with you," she finished, feeling a bit lame.
In a flash, he quickly re-assembled the rifle in front of her. Then he smiled at her. "Well, I'd hate to keep Ol' Tim waiting. Have a good day Ms. Lawson."
Yep, she had definitely mis-read him.
He left Miranda behind, knowing full well he was playing a dangerous game. He still didn't have a read on her, and in fact this last little meeting had thrown him off even more. He hadn't expected that at all. Maybe he had misread her. On the other hand, he was well aware that at any future time she may once again question him, and it might get violent. Basically, nothing had changed he supposed.
Jacob nodded to him as he passed him on the way to the holo-room. He gave Jacob a smile but kept walking, needing to settle with the Illusive Man first.
The holo scanned him in quickly, and his vision came to TIM, smoking as usual. "Good work on Freedom's Progress. The Quarians gave us all the extra intel we needed. I was surprised, given our history."
Ah, so that's what prompted Miranda's half-apology. "Given your history involved trying to blow up a ship, I would say I'm surprised too. But I know Tali. She wouldn't lie to me."
"Our history was long ago, before your return. It's not relevant here. You and I, we have different methods. But I can't argue with your results."
He almost wanted to push on the statement of it not being relevant… the Illusive Man had brought it up after all. But it wouldn't help him accomplish what he needed here. "I know we both do what needs to be done to get the job done. But I'm not like you."
"Think what you will. But we're more alike than different."
"Don't ever think that. I don't sacrifice my people unless there is no other way. I know it's not the same for you." Before the Illusive Man could retort, he held up his hand. "No, it's fine. It doesn't matter what you or I say. We both know what's important here."
TIM smiled at him. "Very good. Yes, your data confirmed it was the collectors behind these abductions."
"So you did already know," Shepard commented coolly, crossing his arms. "Somehow I'm not surprised."
"I had my suspicions. But I needed you to get the evidence yourself. I know you wouldn't have believed me otherwise." He pulled himself out of his chair, his cybernetic eyes changing a bit. "The collectors have always been a bit of an enigma. They travel about, gathering seemingly random things, small groups of random species, in the dozens at a time only, giving us a taste of their technology. Then they return through the Omega 4 relay. This is the first evidence we have of direct aggression by them. This is the first time they've taken so many, and from a single species."
Shepard dredged any information he could remember about the relay from the back of his mind. "Omega-4… no ship has ever come back from there, has it?"
"Unfortunately not. The present theory is that the collector ships are reacted to differently, that it's actually let through in some special way. Some sort of technology that we don't understand. I think it just points to them working for the Reapers," he stated, as if it was never in question. Which John thought was ridiculous. There could be a million reasons. Still, that explanation was certainly the most likely. He had to get a damper on his automatic drive to reject anything the Illusive Man said.
"So why humanity?" John asked. He didn't know if TIM would be honest with him, but it couldn't hurt to ask.
He turned away from Shepard. "Well, if they're working for the reapers as I believe, it could be the role we played in Sovereigns destruction. What's far more concerning is that they abduct, not kill. Behaviour like this, I don't know what to make of it. The Reapers must have some hidden goal we can't see."
While John could see how the Reapers might be linked to this, there still wasn't any proof. "All this doesn't point conclusively to the Reapers. If you want me to work on this, you need to tell me everything."
The Illusive Man seemed to consider his words, taking another drag. "I'm glad you asked that. I can tell you that the patterns are there, buried in the data. The Alliance and Council want to believe the threat is gone with Sovereign." He turned back to him, fire in his eyes. "You and I know better. If we wait, if we let the Reapers go on the march, we will lose. We need to take the fight to them. I'll do whatever it takes to stop them."
He was right about the Alliance and the Council. They were a bunch of political hacks. Fear of invasions, preparing for wars that there was no proof about, were bad for the poll numbers. They couldn't be counted to get the job done. But he had never answered his question, merely said that there was evidence. Not convincing. Still, he could work with them for now and do his own digging.
And as much as he hated to admit it, Cerberus would provide him the resources he needed to stop them. They probably wouldn't stab him in the back until he had done what they needed from him. But by then, he had every intention of being ready for them. He'd stab them in the back then, if not before.
"So let's say I believe you, and that I could work with you. And to be clear, I would be working with, not for you." The Illusive Man nodded to him. "I can't do this alone. I'm going to need a team."
"I know. You're not the best because you're a good soldier; you're the best because you make a team work together effortlessly, and make them more than they are. I've already compiled a list of the best soldiers, scientists, biotics and mercenaries the galaxy has to offer. You'll get dossiers on them." He tapped a few keys, and Shepard felt his omni-tool rumble as it received the files. "It's up to you to recruit them, but I have faith in your abilities. I'll track the collectors, and keep you up to date. You do what you have to do to get your team."
Ah, so he wanted to give him a team, not let him use the team he wanted. "I'm not so sure I like the idea of using your team. What about my old team?"
"This team is no more my team than it would be yours. I've had contact with none of them, they're simply the best. As for your old team, Williams is with the Alliance still. Vakarian has disappeared. Dr. T'Soni is on Illium, working for the Shadow Broker I believe. I wouldn't trust her."
He had known Ashley would be a part of the Alliance still, seeing as she was loyal to a fault. Much as Miranda was loyal to Cerberus. He might be able to recruit her, but he doubted it, not since this involved Cerberus. He'd have to put out his own feelers for Garrus, there may be something he wasn't being told.
He thought it was ridiculous that Liara would work for the Shadow Broker. Something else was likely going on. Still, he could at least look over the dossiers that the Illusive Man sent him, consider them.
"And Tali?"
The Illusive Man was actually a bit flustered. "I have to admit, that one surprised me. I can't commit to her without more intel."
Shepard raised an eyebrow to her. "This is my team, right? I don't need your permission. Send me what you have."
Once again, he knew he'd surprised the Illusive Man by the way he shuffled slightly. He really wasn't used to being questioned. After a moment, he shrugged. "Miranda informed me that Tali is unavailable for now. I just don't want her to jeopardize the mission."
"She would never jeopardize the mission if I brought her aboard."
He nodded, accepting Shepard at his word. Or maybe he just didn't care. "It's your call Shepard. It's all up to you."
Well he was glad that was settled. The Illusive Man was surprisingly co-operative. He could work with this. "Good. I'd say I'd try to get the council to help, but given how much I was listened to last time I warned them, I'd say I'm wasting my time. Is that all?"
He wasn't acknowledged, the Illusive Man just kept moving. "Not quite. Two more things. One, head to Omega and recruit Dr. Solus. He's a brilliant Salarian scientist who is our best shot at neutralizing the paralyzing agent of the Collectors."
A reasonable suggestion, but once again phrased as an order. "I'll think about it. And the other?"
"A familiar face. I've found a pilot you can trust, an old friend. I hear he's the best. I think you'll like him." He disappeared a moment later as he abruptly hung up.
"Hey Commander. Just like old times huh? Except we got one creepy ass boss eh?" Shepard was shocked as he turned around.
"Joker? What the… it's great to see you!" Shepard explained, happy to see his friend. He smiled, but in the back of his mind he remembered that the Illusive Man had likely recruited Joker just to give him that sense of comfort of having an old friend. Still, Joker was one of the best pilots in the galaxy even with his medical problems. And he was loyal; he wouldn't stab him in the back. And he genuinely was one of his good friends. Joker smiled at him, and that was when Shepard noticed he was standing. On his own. "Wait… what happened to you Joker?"
"Cerberus hooked me up with the newest medical breakthroughs. I still break easily but… I can move, you know. And do some light activity."
Shepard broke out into a full out grin, lightly tapping Joker on the shoulder. "You're a real boy now Joker. That sounds great."
Joker was grinning widely at him too. "So I get to be your helmsman again. Just like old times, huh Commander?"
"Not quite," John replied, sobering up fairly quickly. "Cerberus isn't really the group I wanted to work with."
"Yea well, they're not all bad. You're here, aren't you?"
Shepard shrugged as Joker started leading him away. "But there's a lot of strings attached it seems. What happened after…" he trailed off, not sure how to finish.
Joker turned a bit more serious, which John had rarely seen. "It all fell apart without you Commander. Everything you stirred up, the council wanted gone."
"Well that's surprising. I was certain they'd follow through."
Joker matched Shepards wry grin at his sarcasm, but it fell off as he continued. "The team got broken up, records were sealed, and worst of all I got grounded. Hell yea I joined Cerberus, especially with the medical care they offered and letting me fly."
Shepard reluctantly nodded. He could understand where Jeff was coming from. The most important thing in Joker's life was flying, especially with his condition. When you added in the medical treatment, Joker was getting a good deal. But was it worth selling his soul over? "So you really trust Cerberus? The Illusive Man?"
Joker snorted at him. "You know me Commander, I don't trust anyone who makes more than I do. But hey, they aren't all bad. They saved your ass, treated me, and let me fly. But best of all, they did this."
He looked out a window into the darkness. Shepard turned as well, curious. "They only told me last night."
Lights started to flash on, immediately highlighting the words SR-2, and the nose of a ship that he recognized very well. As the lights continued to flash, Shepard watched with amazement and a smile as his old ship was revealed. Well, not exactly. He could immediately tell it was larger than the original Normandy.
The lights finished flashing on, and the ship gleaned in the dark background.
"Cerberus sure knows how to put on a show, huh?" Joker quipped.
Shepard's grin faded. Of course they did. "Yea, they sure do. Only thing missing is some sort of epic music," he replied jokingly. But he wasn't that impressed. He didn't like drama, and he didn't like feeling as though he was being played. And of course he should feel like he was being played – he damn well WAS. "But she's ours now. We better give her a name."
Joker smiled at him. "How about watermelon? Or porky?"
"Hungry?"
"A little. I'll see to the painting."
Shepard nodded at Joker. Of course it would be Normandy. "You do that. I've got some sleep to get. Considering all the slacking off I've been doing these last 2 years, I sure am tired."
Joker sighed. "Leave the jokes to me Commander."
Shepard grumbled as he left. So his last joke hadn't been his best, but he liked his first one. At least he thought he was funny.
"Welcome to the Normandy Commander. I hope she lives up to your memories of the old one."
Shepard stepped out of the airlock door in front of Jacob, looking at his new ship. The design was largely the same, if a bit… shinier for lack of another word. It didn't have the utility feel of a military ship, but instead felt like a civilian craft. That would wear out with time, he hoped. The feeling was just off, foreign to him.
"We have a full crew complement then?" He glanced up at the cockpit, noticing the change immediately of there only being a seat for Joker, who was at the helm performing checklists.
He turned back and was surprised to find Miranda right in front of him. "Yes we do Shepard. They're at their stations performing final checks before launch. Our maiden voyage."
He started walking down the hall towards the CIC, looking over a few of the crewmens shoulders. "Shakedown run first?" he asked. It was customary for new ships to have to pace themselves, stressing and then easing off on the engine, much like one would on a new car. The engine needed to be eased into it.
Miranda answered back quickly. "That won't be necessary here Shepard. That's all taken care of. Within a few hours you'll never even know she was new." She stepped ahead of him as they reached the center display of the CIC, quickly calling up a picture of a Salarian. "This is Dr. Mordin Solus, Salarian professor presently on Omega. After my review of the dossiers, he's my suggestion for our first recruitment objective."
She always spoke so formally when speaking to him. Until he got her angry enough of course, though he'd only seen that the one time. Still, it was curious as to why she referred such formal speech to him. Even in combat she was formal with him, though she wasn't with Jacob. Still, despite his slight annoyance at the formality, he ignored it in favour of her sound advice. "Good analysis Miss Lawson. With the collectors able to paralyze humans, we do need some way to protect ourselves. I'm sure he will be able to."
"Exactly. Without a countermeasure to protect us, we'd be helpless."
"Although showing up on Omega in a warship with the name Normandy plastered on her sure would be a good way to announce my presence back to the galaxy. I'm not so sure that's a good idea yet." Shepard frowned to himself, thinking out loud. "But the waves created could be of benefit still; a distraction while we do our thing there. Omega it is I suppose."
"Acquiring Dr. Solus appears to be the most logical place to start," a synthetic female voice boomed out behind him.
Shepard turned around, shocked to find a holographic blue orb staring back at him, lines down the middle. He frowned and squinted a closer look, before grinding his teeth, fairly certain this was no mere VI. "What… the hell… is an AI doing on my ship?" he forced out angrily. Trust Cerberus to do something so stupid.
Miranda's tone immediately turned conciliatory. "Shepard, we wanted the best for this ship. EDI is shackled with severe limits. Outside combat it has no control, and in combat all it can do is operate our cyberwarfare suites and countermeasure suites."
'EDI' as Miranda called it, picked up from her. "I am the enhanced defence intelligence unit on the ship. My only other task is to observe the crew and offer advice as my processors deem fit. My observations and notes are then forwarded to the Illusive Man."
Shepard shook his head. "Un-fucking believable." He turned to Miranda. "At least it's honest about its spying," he spat out. "Tells me outright it's spying on me. I expected to be spied on, but by an AI? You people are just… unbelievable."
"You said that already," commented Miranda dryly.
Shepard blinked at her in shock. Was that… a joke? From Miranda? He didn't know what to make of that, so instead he just ignored it. He turned back to EDI. "Ok, so I'm not unreasonable. I can understand being spied on, I imagine that between me and this ship Cerberus pretty much bankrupted itself. But an AI?" He barely paused at the end of this question. "I'd demand it off my ship, but I suppose it's not really my ship, is it? I'm just the puppet to the puppet master," he muttered coldly but quickly got a hold of himself. This was not a good way to act. This wasn't him, he was losing control. The one thing that he really couldn't afford to do while surrounded by Cerberus was crack like this. He was giving away too much information about himself, buttons that they could use against him. His old intelligence officer would have had his head for this. "Forget it. Doesn't matter. What are your jobs here?"
"I'll be your executive officer Shepard, in charge of day to day functioning, maintenance, paperwork. I'm your second in command." Shepard nodded at Miranda's explanation. He had expected that. She wouldn't last long at that position, he would replace her soon enough he was sure. He'd keep her for the paperwork though. He didn't miss that. "Mr. Taylor is in charge of the armoury. He'll keep our weapons in top shape."
Shepard nodded at Jacob. He seemed capable enough for that duty. "Ok then. We'll make this work one way or another." He turned to the cockpit where Joker was with Miranda following him, while Jacob went off to the armoury. "Ok Joker. Take her out. Next stop, Omega."
"Aye aye Commander sir, sir commander, sir," Joker started mockingly, though Shepard ignored him as the gates opened in front of them. Moment later they were easing out into space, the rumble of the deck lighter than the old Normandy possibly. Seconds later and the FTL drive initiated. John wouldn't have known if he wasn't watching. "We should be about 2 hours. I'll let you know when we're closer."
"Got it Joker. Miss Lawson, I'd appreciate a tour of the ship."
She bowed her head slightly. "Of course, Commander. Follow me."
"This is the top of the ship, and our last floor to visit. It just contains one room – yours."
Shepard stepped out of the elevator behind Miranda to see a single door. "A whole floor just for lil' ol' me?"
Miranda chose to ignore his tone, unsure if he was mocking her or trying to crack wise. "Well we had extra space, and we wanted to add a cabin for the XO. We opted to give the captain a much larger cabin with more privacy and the XO can take your old space."
Shepard offered Miranda a seemingly genuine smile. "Great, you can have my castoff. Let's have a look at this place."
Miranda didn't smile back, but instead opened the door. Too bad, he had hoped she would lighten up a bit in private. John quickly took in the cabin. Larger, more comfortable looking. He wasn't sure how he felt about the privacy, it had always been easy to interact with the crew in his old cabin, and he had always been nearby for any problems. However, it was nice to maintain a bit of distance.
"Looks nice. Although the deskt doesn't look the best for having meetings, it's more set up for just one person."
Miranda conceded the point. "Yes, unfortunately. However, that's what the briefing room is for, or you can use my office for that purpose. I should be involved in those discussions anyways for the most part I imagine."
Shepard looked over at her sharply. "Is that so?" His voice was open and non-threatening, but there was just the faintest of an edge there. He had thought this issue had been solved. He had to nip this in the bud. It was nothing personal against Miranda, she was competent enough. But she was Cerberus.
"Well if I'm your executive office, I should be appraised of decisions, shouldn't I? We'll be making decisions together, and…"
Shepard cut her off. "I'll be making the decisions Miss Lawson. I'll solicit your input, and you can have your say, but I get final word."
"I didn't mean it like…"
John cut her off again, unwilling to compromise here. "I'm not finished yet. I had said before if we were going to work together, that we would have a conversation about your loyalty to Cerberus again. Well, it's time to have that conversation." Miranda didn't say anything, seeming to wait for him to finish. "I'm sorry to have cut you off. But we're in private here, and we need to get this out in the open so we can work together. So you start."
Miranda opened her mouth, but then it slid shut. He was just so god damn frustrating! She hadn't meant to sound like she was equal in command with her first statement, and then when she tried to explain what she meant, he cuts her off and goes on that rant. He just…. UGH! Since her talk with Shepard last time, she had taken some time to think, and had concluded that Jacob was right. She had to work for him, so there was no sense antagonizing him. The game she was playing wasn't helping her; Shepard was still a closed book to her. For all the facts she knew about him, she didn't know the first thing about him.
She took a short breath, and then started speaking again. "First of all, I was going to say that I didn't mean to imply we made our decisions together as in a compromise, I just meant that we'd work together to make a decision in just the way you said – I give you my view and advice, and you make the choice. Second of all, I'm still completely loyal to Cerberus. It just so happens that being loyal to Cerberus means being loyal to you, regardless of your choices. However, as long as we're in relative privacy and in a non-combat situation, I foresee that we will fight over pretty much everything. And that is something that won't change. But in combat, you can count on me to follow you Commander."
Shepard stared at her for a long moment, before cracking a light smile. "So was that your decision, or were you ordered too, while kicking and screaming against it?" She flushed red at his statement, so he nodded. "Well, I'm glad to see that you're still the Illusive Man's lapdog. However, as long as you do exactly what you just said, I'm ok with that." He inwardly winced at his lapdog comment slipping out. Some people would get that he was just cracking wise and not serious, but not someone who didn't know him. Well… maybe he was somewhat serious.
Miranda was infuriated. What right did this… this… stupid man have? Oh good god she couldn't even think up a good insult for him she was so furious. No one had ever had this effect on her.
"You see Miss Lawson, I like different opinions on my ship. I like people to tell me their viewpoints, in case I missed something. You'll find that I'm surprisingly open to changing my conduct, as long as you have a valid and logical argument. And as long as you aren't betraying a member of my team; which, since you're a part of my team now, is good news for you. We won't have to try and kill each other. Step out of line though, and I will put you down." Miranda noted that he ended off jovially, as if this was all a game to him, which it maybe was. Maybe he was doing nothing more than finding any button of hers he could and just slamming away at it, just because he could; because she had to take it. She hated the Illusive Man's orders.
She tactfully opted to say nothing.
Shepard held her stare however, his blue eyes seeming to dig right into her. He had this eerie way of making her feel like he was in her head. "Nothing to say, Lawson? Remember, we're in private. You can let me have it. In fact, please do. I can promise no repercussions here. I want to be able to trust you, and I want you to trust me. I doubt it can happen, but if it's going to, this is how we do it. So speak your mind. Or does the Illusive Man control that too?" Now he was just pushing and prodding her to get a reaction. And she didn't disappoint him.
She exploded the moment he finished, unable to contain her emotions any longer. "YOU ARROGANT TWIT! You're walking around like you're so much better than everyone else just because we, Cerberus, spent so much bringing you back and giving you this ship. Because we saved your god damned life, threw years of our lives into you. Just because the Illusive Man thinks the sun shines out of your fucking ass doesn't mean it actually does. In fact, I'd say you're nothing more than an asshole!" She finished with her finger pointed at him.
Shepard grinned darkly at her. "Tell me how you really feel Lawson, come on." He was surprised at the outburst, but had been hoping for it. Any weak link in the armour she presented to him could be used against Cerberus if need be. Or preferably, he could use it to actually get to know her and make her a part of his team, however unlikely it was.
Miranda's finger quivered in rage before she took a deep breath and slowed herself down. What the hell was that? She had never lost control before, she played the role of the ice queen and she liked that moniker. Always professional, never letting someone get under her skin. Well John Shepard was well under her skin. He was like a damned tick, crawling up to roost.
She lowered her finger, resuming a neutral stance. "I'm sorry Commander. I don't know what came over me."
John just shrugged at her. "No, we both know what came over you. I'm impressed you bottled all that up so well actually."
He turned around and walked deeper into the cabin. "You're my executive officer and second in command for now Miranda, since presently you actually are the best choice. I expect that it won't be long before I find someone to replace you, in spirit if not in name. In the meantime, remember that I'm in command. So none of your Cerberus bullshit, none of your freak experiments, and no sacrificing members of our team. This is my operation; you're just along for the ride. And that ride can end at any time."
Well, she'd already blown her lid once and screamed at her commanding officer, mine as well push her luck. Plus, he was really pissing her off. "So it really is all about you then?"
Shepard turned back to her. "You nailed it Miranda, that's exactly what I'm saying." But his voice was sarcastic, as if she had completely missed the point. He turned more serious. "Miss Lawson, I'm saying exactly what I said. That I don't trust Cerberus, and that by extension, I don't trust you. I'm going to stop the Reapers, and I'm going to use Cerberus' help to stop them. But I won't become like them or you, and I won't allow you to change me. I plan on walking away from this the same person."
Miranda stared down at him, her voice softening. "You're wrong about us John. You'll see that in time. We brought you back, gave you a second chance. Can't you give us a second chance?"
"I am Miss Lawson. I'm here, aren't I?"
She sighed. "Well then, I guess the cards are on the table. I can expect to be replaced at any time, you don't trust me, and I don't even think you like me. You sure know how to be a leader and earn my loyalty, sir." Sarcasm could go both ways.
John smiled at her, pleased to see she wasn't too serious. "I don't need your loyalty Miranda, not really. You're loyal to the Illusive Man, and he has loaned you to me. I believe that you'll do all you can to help me. Besides, you'd never be loyal to me. I just don't want you to be misled by me; I try to avoid lying to my crew. You're a skilled operative and would be a boon to almost any team. But not mine, not with your attitude. That would never change without you changing. And I don't see that happening."
He was wrong. She was exactly what this mission needed, what he needed. Well, she had to throw in her lot with Shepard now anyways – her fate was his fate after all – and as long as she was here, she knew Shepard needed her. He didn't see it yet, but he would.
So maybe she could change. She would try, because one day she knew that Shepard would recognize his mistake and she would be welcome. He was a good enough man to swallow his pride and admit he was wrong, and to respect and trust her for what she could do. And until then, she'd take her lickings. If it was what she had to do, she could do it. "You're wrong Shepard. I'll show you."
But he was disinterested. "Maybe. I know you think I have something to prove to you. But I have no intention of proving anything to you Miss Lawson. Either I will show you what you want to see or I won't. It won't matter to me." He paused before continuing. "Anything else Miss Lawson?"
Miranda sighed. Maybe this was why he was a great leader. Her justifications to herself that she would prove herself to him because she had no choice were wrong. She would prove herself to him because… because he was him. She didn't know why even, there was just something about him. There was no sense dwelling on that for now. "Just one. A Mr. Zaeed Massani will be greeting us on Omega to join our team. One of the best mercenaries in the galaxy. He'll be useful."
Shepard nodded. "A hired gunhand. Can't say I trust them, but it's not like it can get worse than what I have now. Dismissed."
As Miranda walked out, Shepard let out the breath he'd been holding, though he immediately regretted the sign of relief. No doubt EDI was spying on him and would relay that to Miranda.
For all his bluster, he really did think she was going to be invaluable. She had her problems, but without a doubt she could make an excellent member of the team. He doubted her ability to lead effectively, since she only would work well in a more hierarchal organization which his team would never be, but he could use her. He really wasn't sure how much of his negative views were clouded by his preconception of her being Cerberus either, if he was completely honest with himself. Still, it was unlikely she'd change enough for anything more than a cold-professional relationship of someone under his command, and he had basically told her as much. The ball was now in her court to see if she could be useful to him.
And if she turned out to be too much of a problem, he could still kill her. He wasn't going to let one woman stop him from stopping the Reapers. He doubted the Illusive Man would even complain. A man like that used people, and then discarded them. Even his closest and best agent was still just a tool to be used.
One day, the shoe would be on the other foot for him, and Shepard couldn't wait to be that other foot.
Thanks for reading. The next chapter is a long way's away, possibly a month. I just don't have the time to write.